couturier collection at yale...
TRANSCRIPT
Father Couturier struck a presence wherever he went. He w a s Matisse's main model for the design of
both the St. Dominic a t Notre-Dame^e-Toute-Grace, Assy, and his St. Dominic a t the Chapel of the
Rosary at Vence. The letter from Matisse to Father Couturier seen in the middle of this Register includes
a drawing of the Assy St. Dominic a n d a preliminary drawing of the candlesticks for the Vence Chapel.
While working on the Chapel at Vence, Matisse referred to the St, Dominic a s "Father Couturier." Irving
Penn's portrait photograph "Father Couturier" w a s published in Vogue, February 1 5 , 1 9 4 9 and is seen
on the cover of this Register. Couturier also posed for two Canadian artists, Louise Gadbois and Jean
Chariot. Dmitri Kessel, Carl van Vechten, Doisneau-Ropho, Maywald, Pierre Borie, and BrassaVdid
photographic portraits of Couturier. Lucion hierve photographed Couturier with Le Corbusier, and
Cartier-Bresson photographed Couturier a t the consecration of the Vence Chapel.
Penn, "Father Couturier," Courtesy Vogue. © Copyright 1 9 4 9 (renewed 1977 | by the Conde Most
Publications, Inc. First published February 15, 1949 . Used by permission Conde Nast,
Henri Matisse letter to Father Couturier, May 7, 1950 . Archives Couturier/Couturier Collection DV
2A23. Used by permission © Succession H. Matisse. This letter includes sketches for candlesticks and
a drawing of the Assy St. Dominic for which Couturier was a model.
Couturier Collection a t Yale University
Archival Register
Contents
Introduction to the Couturier Collection at Yale 1
Chronology of Father Couturier 7
History and Structure of the Couturier Collection 1 1
Contents of Couturier Collection 1 7
Series I ORIGINAL PAPERS (18 linear feet) 1 7
Series II TOPICAL GROUPINGS (10 linear feet] 2 8 Series III ENGLISH TRANSLATION PAPERS (6 linear feet] 4 3
Access to the Collection 4 5
The Father Marie-Alain Couturier, O.P. (1897-1954) Papers
Couturier Collection at Yale Llniversity
a gift from the Menil Foundation to the
Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Worship and the Arts
Archival Register
compiled by Joanna Weber
June 1994
Introduction to the Couturier Collection a t Yale University
The Couturier Collection at Yale University consists of 3 4 linear feet of material,
dating from 1 8 9 7 to 1993, divided into the following series:
I. ORIGINAL PAPERS
II. TOPICAL GROUPINGS
III. ENGLISH TRANSLATION PAPERS
The Collection contains correspondence, diary entries, notes, ser
mons, and photographs of Father Marie-Alain Couturier, O.P. as well as
newspaper clippings and other secondary material related to his work. Copies
of all edited books of Couturier's published writings are available. O f particular
interest are a number of sets of periodicals, including the monthly journal L'Art
Sacre (1935-1958, co-edited by Father Couturier and Father Pie-Raymond
Regamey, O.P. from 1937-1954, excludingtheWorld W a r IIyears); Chronique
d'Art Sacre (1985-1990); and Liturgical Arts (1951 -1954).
Included in the Couturier Collection at Yale is a complete photocopy
of the Archives Couturier in Paris, France, which is centered around the issues of
the Sacred Art Movement in France in the 1940s and 50s (95% of the documents
are in French]'. In addition to this core collection, the Yale Couturier Collection
contains transcriptions, translations, and other tools for using Couturier's papers.
Unique to the Couturier Collection are the English Translation Papers, donated
by William Granger Ryan, the translator of Father Couturier's writings Art Scare
and La Verite Blessee into English. F-lis drafts will provide insight into Father
Couturier's intended meanings as one sees the translator grappling with
transposing the precise nuance of words and phrasing.
Throughout recent years, particularly under John W . Cook's directorship
of the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Worship and the Arts (1985-1992), a
strong connection was forged betv ^een the Archives Couturier and the Institute,
particularly through the Religion and the Arts Program and its focus on Liturgical
Studies. William Gronger Ryan, Research Scholar at the Institute through the
1980s, translated Father Couturier's writings and often lectured on his signifi
cance. Cook and Ryan co-taught a seminar on Couturier's thought. And in
1989, the Institute's Rothko Symposium considered the links between the creation
of the Rothko Chapel and Father Couturier's vision of art as a prophetic witness
in our modern age. Given the interdisciplinary project of the Institute, a study copy
of the Couturier Papers within its premises seemed natural.
With the approval of the French Provincial of the Dominican Order, the
Couturier Collection was deposited at Yale in October 1991 and was a gift from
theMenil Foundation to Yale University. The Opening of the Couturier Collection
took place at Yale Divinity School on February 9, 1992, the anniversary of Father
Couturier's death, and included presentations by Mrs. Dominique de Menil on
"Knowing Couturier"; Will iam Granger Ryan, translator of LArt Sacre and
La Verite Blessee, on "Translating Couturier"; and Joanna Weber, Curator,
Couturier Collection, on "Studying Couturier."
The Significance of the Collection^
Born in 1 8 9 7 in Montbrison, France, Father Marie-Alain Couturier was from an
early age interested in art. After World W a r I, he joined the Academie de la
Grande Chaumiere in Paris. A little later, he associated himself with the Ateliers
d'Art Sacre, founded by Maurice Denis and Georges Desvallieres, where he
specialized in stained-glass window making and fresco painting. In 1925 he
entered the Dominican Order, ready to abandon art for the sake of his religious
calling; nonetheless, his superiors encouraged him to continue his artistic
activities. He was ordained in 1930, and in 1937, together with Father
Regamey, a fellow Dominican, he assumed the responsibility of directing and
writing for the new journal I'Arf Sacre.
In 1939 Father Couturier came to the United Slates to give a series of
Lenten sermons at the French church in N e w York City, Saint Vincent-de-Paul.
When he was ready to return to France, he found he could not because the
Second World W a r had begun in earnest. He spent the next five years in North
America, deepening his thoughts on art, meeting artists, leading conferences,
teaching art to young girls, and painting frescos. His book on art and the Church,
Art et Calholicisme (two editions, 1941 and 1945), was published by Les
Editions de I'Arbre in Montreal, and he prepared two other manuscripts
published by the same House: Marce l Parizeau (1945], a study of the Canadian
architect, and Chroniques (1947).
Couturier returned to France in the summer of 1945. In 1948, became
back to the United States and Canada for several months, completing some of
his projects. His time in North America allowed him to expand and explore new
directions which would affect his subsequent work back in France.
Prior to 1950, in the Sacred Art Movement in France, and particularly
in the Ateliers d'Art Sacre, it was assumed that a renewal of sacred art was
possible only by a return to the model of the Middle Ages, or to the Byzantine
or Orthodox traditions. Only in these models, it was supposed, could individual
artists express the collective religious thought of the people.
Moreover, the Ateliers d'Art Sacre, rooted in Jacques Moritain's neo-
Thomist book, Art a n d Scholasticism (1917), assumed that the maker of sacred
art must first live a sacred life before picking up a paintbrush. Couturier himself
was an artist-priest trained at the Ateliers d'Art Sacre; he had faith and good
will, and he continued to paint and design stained-glass windows throughout his
life. But he knew that faith alone could not endow his art-work with the quality
of spirituality he sought for the Church's visual forms.
Father Couturier also realized that the idealized collective world of the
Middle Ages no longer existed, if, in fact, it ever hod. A return to the past of
ecclesiastical power and influence was not possible; furthermore, nostalgia
could only succeed in re-iterating old forms, in perpetuating the emptiness of
looking backwards. This backward glance, he argued, is what had triumphed
in 20th-century church art, so that traditional church-related art forms, such as
stained-glass windows, architecture, tapestry, mosaic, and sculpture had all
fallen outside the explorations of modern art. The great living artists were no
longer commissioned by the Church and so the innovations of the art world
continued apart from it. Because of Couturier, this would all change: artists such
OS Henri Matisse, Fernand Leger, Georges Rouault, Marc Chagall, and Jean
Bazaine, took on the possibilities and the history of these traditional church art
media, thereby revitalizing the ecclesiastical arts.
In the early 20th century, the world of the arts hod turned away from
expressing collective identities to focus on the individual, and artists created
highly personal works and styles. Nonetheless, Couturier saw that these personal
works and styles echoed universal elements of human experience through the filter
of highly individualized artistic perception and expression.
Considering this shift in modern art. Father Couturier wondered
whether the way to connect the individual, whether Christian or not, to the world
of the spirit could be through the works of independent artists not associated with
any given school of style, form, or canons of academic art. That these artists were
not "Christian" became irrelevant to him. He argued that the sacred, the spiritual,
and the transcendent did not belong exclusively to the Church; rather the sacred
was accessible to those who were willing to enter into God's mystery and power
by any avenue. By calling on true, great artists. Father Couturier hoped to re
introduce the presence of the genuinely sacred into both the Church and the
broken world, to foster highly individualized artistic work in traditional church-
related media.
Examples of Father Couturier's preoccupation with the power of art and
beauty to communicate truth can be seen in the layout and the choice of images
he used for his articles in L'Art Sacre. In order to show Father Couturier's aesthetic,
theMenil Foundation sponsored the publication of a selection of Couturier's L'Art
Sacre articles and their layouts in Art Sacre (Paris: Menil Foundation/Hersher,
1983), subsequently tronslated by William Granger Ryan into English as Sacred
Art (Austin, Texas: Menil Foundation/University of Texas Press, 1989).
Father Couturier's influence was felt not only through the dissemination
of his ideas in LArt Sacre, but also through his involvement in commissioning and
working with great artists for the Church in France following the end of Wor ld
W a r II. Between 1947and 1954, FatherCouturierwas involved simultaneously
in the following projects:
• the Basilique-de-la-Paix-et-du-Pardon, La Sainte Baume with the artist Leger and
the architect Le Corbusier (a project never completed);
• Notre-Dame-de-Toute-Grace at Assy with artists Leger, Rouault, Bonnard,
Matisse, Chagall, Richier, Braque, Lurcat, and Lipchitz (this project also includes
two stained-glass windows by Couturier himself), and the architect Novarino;
• La Chapelle du Rosaire in Vence, with Matisse, Brother Rayssiguier, Sister
Jacques, Lydia Delectorskaya, and the architect Auguste Ferret;
• L'Eglise-du-Sacre-Coeur at Audincourt with artists Leger and Bazaine and the
architect Novorinc.
From 1952 until 1954, Father Couturier closely followed the work of Le
Corbusier, the architect of the Dominican convent of Sointe-Morie de la Tourette
near Evreux and the pilgrimage chapel of Notre-Dome-du-Haut at Ronchamp.
Father Couturier was not alone in working on these projects. Other
clergy, including Father Regomey, Abbe Morel, Abbe Devemy of Assy, Abbe
Prenel of Audincourt, and the members of the Commission d'Art Sacre in the
Diocese of Besan<;on, were preoccupied with the problems of sacred art and the
new developments in the art world. Nonetheless, it was usually Father Couturier
who made direct and personal contacts with the artists and then sustained their
friendship after the projects were completed. Father Couturier died in Paris, on
February 9, 1954.
in the Couturier Collection at Yale, as in the Paris Archives Couturier,
there are documents related to each of these projects. As an entity, the Collection
provides a unique opportunity to study the issues surrounding the creation of these
works of art and the close collaboration between the artists and Father Couturier.
A historian's detective work is inevitably required to consider this amount of
material; this is akin to walking into a dining-room following on elaborate meal
and, by considering the leftovers and the state of the room, to establish the menu,
the circumstances of the dinner, the occasion, and the identities of the guests.
In the case of the contents of the Couturier Collection, these written
traces of a life and body of work not limited to literary production are often quite
difficult to handle. Moreover, Father Couturier's thought was constantly in
motion, never directed in a single way. His definitions of "the sacred," "the
religious," and "the transcendent," for instance, are often elusive, as is his
understanding of the role the artist ploys in creating genuine works of art. Father
Couturier himself admitted to this and made no apology for it. Fie wrote: "So
our thoughts go on . . . in zigzags. Not because we are tipsy, but because the
light shines now from one side of our course, now from the other. And we
advance toward these lights, finding and abandoning things at each bend of the
road. This journal [L'Art Socre], you see, is not dogmatic. It is a review of
uncertainties and disengagements. It is like life."^
Studying Couturier's thought, therefore, has its challenges. But it also
has its rewards. That it exists at all is indicative of its significance. For about forty
years now, someone has carefully been organizing and caring for Father
Couturier's writings. Immediately upon Father Couturier's death. Father Regamey
saved his papers and put them into chronological order. He published several
editions of Couturier's written works. Then other associates of Couturier became
interested, and the Collection grew. Often, people would send packets of letters
they hod received from Father Couturier, and these enriched the Collection
considerably, since much of what Couturier had kept in his papers were the letters
he hod received from others. From these letters given to the Paris Archives, it has
been possible to establish two-way correspondences, to consider in greater
depth the type of person and thinker Father Couturier was. These gifts of letters
show that those people who received letters from him considered them precious,
worthy of being kept. Clearly, it is not just the caretakers of the Archives or
Collection, or those funding these positions, who alone value Couturier's
writings.
There is both a timelessness and a historically timely quality to Father
Couturier's words and actions. It is the hope of the staff at the Couturier Collection
at Yale that we will continue to lay out systematically the historical facts related
to Couturier's life, and that our work will illumine his ideas about the Church, art,
and the world.
In on article for L'Art Sacre, published in 1953, one year before his
death, Couturier wrote the following:
Boundaries ought to be crossed. National boundaries, of course; but
first of all boundaries of the imagination and sensibility, which wall us
in when we think we are so free . . . . What is most precious in art is
always born of diversity, of singularity; and the greatest works of art
ore invariably the fruit of uncontrollable spontaneities, themselves
issuing from what is most secret and most constant in races, lands, and
climates.''
It is the content of Father Couturier's thought that is so compelling, insightful,
profound, and revolutionary, particularly in his understanding of the Church's
relationship with the surrounding culture. And this is why one cubic meter of
photocopied paper is such a significant and consequential gift from the Menil
Foundation to Yale University.
The goal of the Couturier Collection at Yale is to continue the work of
the Paris Archives Couturier by making this resource available in North America
to scholars, students, churches, and denominations, especially those concerned
with the ritual presence of art in the Church. It is also for artists and students of
art who are interested in the relation of leading modern artists to religious
commissions. But most importantly, the Couturier Collection's role is to speak of
Father Couturier's vision and to breathe it back into our time.
5
Chronology of Father Couturier^
15 November 1897 Pierre-Charles-Marie Couturier born in Montbrison (Loire).
1915-16 Studies at the Victor-de-Loprode Institute and with the Marists of Soint-
Chamond.
8 August 1916 Mobilized. Leaves for the front 5 April 1917. Is wounded on
rightheel. Hospitalized at Pau on 19April, 1917; released December 1917.
1918 Returns to Montbrison, pursuing his career as a painter. Works near the
painter and sculptor, Joseph Lomberton, and exhibits a series of watercolors from
25 April to 8 May. During the summer, the sculptor Bartholome, friend of Degas,
comes to Montbrison and befriends the Couturier family; encourages Pierre to
go to Paris.
1919 Arrives in Paris, 9January, and signs up at the Acodemie de la Grande
Chaumiere. 22 April to 4 May, new exhibit in Montbrison. At the end of the
year, enters the Ateliers d'Art Sacre founded by Maurice Denis and Georges
Desvallieres. Participates in numerous exhibits. Fresco painting in Jersey (1922
and 1924), stained-glass windows in Lorraine (1923). Works with Denis on the
decoration of the Church at Raincy, built by Perret.
1921 In the springtime, discovers Italy: Siena, Assisi, Arezzo on a trip with Denis
who writes about this in his book Charme e l lemons de I'ltalie. Becomes politically
involved in L'Action Frangaise.
2 February 1925 Colled to become a Dominican. 14 September, arrives at the
Noviciat at Amiens. 2 2 September, takes the habit. Receives his new names,
Marie-Alain.
1926-1929 Studies theology and philosophy at the Saulchoir, at Kain, near
Tournai in Belgium. Willing to abandon art, but his superiors instead encourage
him, providing him with commissions, including a fresco commission project for
the French Dominican chapel in Oslo. Begins writing about art.
25 July 1930 Ordination. Denis, Desvallieres, and Maritain are at the ordination.
Sent to Rome to the College Angelique to complete two more years of theology.
Studies under Garrigou-Logronge.
1931 Returns to France to rest.
1932January-April in Rome. Decorates the oratory of the General Master of the
Order, Father Gillet. In May, sent to Sainte-Anne near Sallanches (Savoie) to rest
and take over the chaplaincy of a preventorium for young girls. What was initially
to be a stay of a few months lasted 3 years.
1933 In M a y called to Rome to organize a Dominican section for the International
Exhibition of Sacred Art. Writes an article on Desvallieres for I'Artisan Liturgique.
1934 January and February in Rome for Exhibition of Sacred Art. Writes an
article, "La souffrance et I'art," for Vaincre.
1935-39 Works at the Convent at Faubourg Saint-Fionore in Paris, preaches,
gives spiritual direction. Continues painting frescos, creating windows in 1935
in Montbrison, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and Oslo; in 1936 in Rome; in 1937 in Paris
and Chartres; and in 1939 in Rome.
1936january, Conference at Nancy: Le Dieudes Artistes. W i th Regamey, takes
the direction of the journal L'Art Sacre. Befriends Elise Jouhandeau and Marcel
Jouhandeau, w h o writes Chroniques maritales, wherein he mockingly describes
Father Couturier.
1937 Stained-glass windows designed for Notre-Dame in Paris, including
several by Father Couturier, are on display in the International Exhibition. At the
end of 1938, these "modern" windows are installed in Notre-Dame causing the
"Querelle des Vitraux." Couturier addresses the issues raised in articles for the
magazine Lejour, and writes for Europe an article, "La Renaissance du Vitrail."
1939 March At Assy, Abbe Devemy and the architect Novarina ask Couturier
to take charge of the decorative program of the church they are building.
December: Leaves for America where he expects to stay for o few months.
8 January 1940 Arrives in N e w York to preach the Lenten sermons at St. Vincent-
de-Paul beginning 7 February. From March to May, stays in Montreal giving
conferences at the University. Meets Etienne Gilson. Teaches at the Ecole des
Beaux-Arts. Returns to N e w York, finding out he cannot return to France. Along
with Maritain, one of the first to militantly support France Libre.
November 1940-June 1941 Second visit to Canada where he attempts to prompt
a renaissance of religious art through popular folk art. Numerous conferences.
Meets h-lenri Laugier who challenges him to reconsider his position on abstraction
in art. In N e w York, agrees to tutor the children of the Marquis de Cuevas. In
May, publishes Art et Catholicisms (Montreal: Editions de I'Arbre). In the
summer, stays in Baltimore at Notre Dame College in Maryland, where he is
Julien Green's neighbor. Julien Green reports this time and his friendship with
Father Couturier in his Journal. Goes to Newport, Rhode Island with the Cuevas
family.
Fall 1941-Summer 1942 Stays in N e w York, though going often to Baltimore,
where he lectures on Christian art, and taking two trips to Montreal. He often
sees Salvador Dali and participates in the creation of the Institut fran(pais d'art
moderne directed by Henri Focillon, Leger, Ozenfont, and Zadkine.
1942 Long trip to Wyoming, Colorado, and Chicago. Returns to N e w York.
Continues teaching in Baltimore. Travels to Montreal and Ottawa. In
November, Simone Weil sends him a letter now known as Letter to a Priest
(published in 1951) wherein she presents a list of the difficulties she has with
Church authorities.
June-July 1943 Temporary chaplain for the French Air Force stationed in
Jacksonville, Florida.
1944 Frequent trips to Canada and several stays with the Dominican sisters at
Elkins Park (near Philadelphia), where he paints Stations of the Cross.
1945 Travels to Canada. Writes a book on Canadian architect, Marcel
Parizeau, and Cbroniques. Contributes to a book on Leger with on article
entitled "Leger at I'ort romon." 2nd edition of Art at Catholicisms is published with
added article "Note sur I'Abstraction." 21 August leaves for France and arrives
in Marseille on the 30th. Returns to the Assy project, and decides to include in
the project the work of great contemporary artists: Leger, Bazoine, Broque,
Matisse, Chagall, Lipchitz, Germaine Richier.
March-April 1946 Stay in Rome. Conference at Saint-Louis-des-Frongais, "Art
moderne et catholicisme." Does frescos at Montbrison and stained-glass
windows at Ecole, near Besangon.
January-June 1947 Second trip to America. In Montreal, works on an exhibit
project, trying to put together an exhibition of Canadian painting for the Musee
d'Art Moderne in Paris and an exhibition of French painting to be shown in
Canada. This project was not realized. Travels to N e w York, Baltimore, and
Fiouston. December; conference at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, "Crise
du gout et arts mineurs."
February 1948 Goes to Rome. In June, meets with Matisse for the first time on
the making of the Chapel, particularly the stained-glass windows. Marks the
beginning of a long friendship and on abundant correspondence. In August-
September, meets with Picasso several times. Works with Leger and LeCorbusier
on the underground Basilique-de-la-Sainte-Boume project. This project was not
realized. Resumes his responsibilities at L'Art Sacre.
June-July 1949 Frescos ot I'Eglise du Sacre-Coeur, at Nomur.
1950 Frescos at Namur; 4 August, Consecration of church at Assy, for which
he writes many articles.
1951 Agroup of conservative "infegristes" succeed in having Germaine Richier's
Crucifix removed from the church at Assy. Rome agrees with this group and the
journal L'Art Sacre defends the Richier Crucifix. This is the famous "Querelle de
I'Art Socre." April-May, his health worsens. He is operated on and hospitalized
at Levallois. 25 June, Consecration of the Chapel of the Rosary at Vence. August-
September continues to work on his frescos at Namur. 14 September,
Consecration of the church at Audincourt. October-December, rest at Sainte-
Anne's in Sallanches.
1952 January, hospitalized at Broussais; January-March, Sallanches and travels
to Nice, conference in Toulouse. April-June, Sallanches. September-October,
Oslo and Stockholm. December, conference at Anvers.
1953 Declining health, yet goes to Audincourt for the installation of Leger's
tapestry; in Lyon, discusses Le Corbusier's commission for the Dominican convent
near LArbresle; goes to Braque's house in Varengeville. Exhausted, he returns
to Sallanches. Brought back to Paris, he is hospitalized at Bon-Secours. At the
end of the year, complete paralysis is setting in. Nonetheless, with the help of
Father Duborle and Father Duploye, he edits L'Art Sacre issue on Spain and
dictates his last article, on Le Corbusier.
9 February 1954 Dies in Paris.
History and Structure of Couturier Collection
The Collection has grown slowly over the years and various curators at the
Archives Couturier in Paris have created new groupings of the original papers
in order to provide tools for researching Father Couturier's work. There are now
three overarching series:
I. ORIGINAL PAPERS
II. TOPICAL GROUPINGS
III. ENGLISH TRANSLATION PAPERS
Series I, ORIGINAL PAPERS, includes all papers in ORDEX brand boxes and
related publications in journal or book form. These materials ore divided into the
following six sub-series:
A. Categorie Chronologique (20 boxes)
B. Categorie Divers (22 boxes)
C. Categorie Divers-Vence (4 boxes]
D. Categorie Photo/Dessins (3 boxes)
E. Categorie IC (5 boxes)
F. Categorie Livres et Publications
The core of this material, the so-called Ponds Regamey, was organized
by Couturier's colleague and friend. Father Pie-Raymond Regamey, beginning
immediately upon Couturier's death in 1954. His plan was to put Couturier's
writings into circulation, and thus he prepared several manuscripts for publica
tion. During his lifetime, Father Couturier hod published extensively, primarily in
article form (for ['/Art Sacre alone he hod written approximately 7 5 articles), but
he hod also written three books, published in Montreal, Canada by Les Editions
de I'Arbre: Art el Catbolicisme, 1 st edition 1941, 2nd edition with added essay
"Note sur I'abstraction" 1945; Marcel Parizeau, 1945; and Cbroniques,
1947. Father Regamey proposed to the Dominican Press, Les Editions du Cerf
in Paris, re-publishing Art et Calholicisme and Chroniques, as Art et Liberie
Spirituelle (1958).
Fother Regamey collected Couturier's notes and prepared the follow
ing manuscripts for publication by Les Editions du Cerf:
Discours de mariage, 1955
Art el Liberie Spirituelle, 1958
Se garder libre, 1962
Dieu et I'arl dans une vie, 1965
L'Evangile est a I'extreme, 1970
In 1956, Brother Royssiguier, the young Dominican amateur architect
who worked closely with Matisse at the Vence Chapel, died and left to Father
Regamey his papers on the Chapel of the Rosary at Vence, primarily his diary
entries on Motisse's making of the Chapel. This is one of the very first additions
to the Couturier papers and an extremely important one.
On December 24, 1975, the French Provincial of the Dominican
Order gave the Couturier papers to the Menil Foundation for "use of an important
collection of papers, letters and autographed documents" since then called
"Fonds Regamey." Father Duploye, a Dominican, oversaw the transition from
Father Regamey to the Menil Foundation. The Couturier papers were then called
"Archives Marie-Alain Couturier" and were deposited at 7 rue las Cases, 7 5 0 0 7
Paris, France, where the originals still remain.
The de Menil association with Father Couturier is as follows: in
between the two World Wars, Father Couturier had met Mile. Dominique
Schlumberger at the home of Jacques and RoTssa Maritain, in Meudon, outside
Paris. A deep friendship grew between them, and in time, it extended to Mr .
Jean de Menil, Mile. Schlumberger's future husband. Father Couturier persuaded
this young couple to purchase their first painting, and the next and the next.
Eventually, the de Menils became great art collectors, whose collection is now
housed in the Menil Collection in Houston.' They commissioned great artists to
do work for the Church in North America just as Father Couturier had done in
France. Most notably, they commissioned Mark Rothko to do the Rothko Chapel
in Fiouston, initially intended to be a Roman Catholic chapel.^ This project stems
directly from Father Couturier's influence. During World W a r II, while he was
in exile in North America, the de Menils often met with Father Couturier both in
N e w York and in their new home in Fiouston.
In the mid-seventies, a graduate student from Yale University, Mr. Barry
Kaplan, set out to do a complete inventory of the Foods Regamey., The structure
he gave the papers is the primary structure still in use.
After Mr. Kaplan completed his inventory, Ms. Caroline Boyle worked
at the Archives Couturier, organizing a collection of photographs of Couturier-
related sites.
Series II, TOPICAL GROUPINGS, is essentially a reworking and re-grouping of
the material found in Series I. It consists of typed transcriptions, bound in block
volumes, of correspondence, agendas (diaries), sermons, and newspaper
clippings about site-related projects, registering his influence at La Sainte-Baume,
Vence, Audincourt, Assy, Ronchamp, La Tourette. It is divided into the following
thirteen sub-series:
A. Fonds Regamey inventory (4 volumes)
B. Directory of Agenda Names (1 volume)
C. Agendas (7 volumes)
D. Couturier chronology (1 volume)
E. Correspondence (27 volumes)
F. Matisse's Vence Chapel Papers (6 volumes)
G. Couturier's Articles (5 volumes)
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5) Besides transcribing Couturier's difficult handwriting, Mile, des Carets
worked on the Agenda project. The Archives possess Couturier's Agendas from
1937-1954, except for 1941. The rationale was to decipher the names of
rendez-vous and addresses in order to establish with whom Couturier was
meeting, when and how often. Mile, des Carets has not only copied all the
agenda entries,-she has created an index file organized alphabetically by name,
where one can find out if there is any record in Couturier's agenda of a meeting
with a particular person, and then how many times Couturier and this person met.
This can be found in sub-series B.
O f the Couturier Papers, Marcel Billot wrote: "[These papers] bring an essential
contribution to our knowledge and study of Father Couturier's work which, more
and more, appears to be a cultural event permanently marking the 20th century."®
Series III, ENGLISH TRANSLATION PAPERS, consists of William Granger Ryan's
Donation in fourteen HOLLINGER brand boxes. This material is divided into the
following eight sub-series:
A. Art Sacre (2 boxes)
B. La Verite Blesses (6 boxes)
C. Other Couturier writings (1 box)
D. Secondary writings on Couturier (1 box)
E. Granger Ryan related courses (1 box)
F. Couturier book proposals (1 box]
G. Special Couturier events at Yale (1 box)
H. Ryan Topical editing of Couturier material (1 box)
Rev. William Granger Ryan, President Emeritus of Seton Hill College
and a Menil Research Scholar in Religion and the Arts at the Yale Institute of
Sacred Music, Worship and the Arts, has donated the English Translation
papers. His donation consists of translations of Art Sacre (Sacred Artj and
La Verite Blessee (Truth Woundedl in both incomplete and complete versions,
and his own structuring of the Couturier material. This material was organized
by Ms. Jan Fournier. The introduction of the English translation of Father Couturier's writings,
specifically William Granger Ryan's translation of Sacred Art, occurred at the
Yale Rothko Symposium, December 1-3, 1989, and included speakers: Mrs.
Dominique de Menil, Anna Chave, Marcel Billot, Joanna Weber, Will iam
Granger Ryan, John W . Cook, Dana Cronmer, Harris Rosenstein, Sheldon
Nodelmon, James E. Breslin, and Robert Motherwell. An exhibit, "Paintings by
Mark Rothko" (December 2-30, 1989) organized by Kimberly Davenport and
Sasha Newman, was also sponsored by the Yale Institute of Sacred Music,
Worship and the Arts at that time. For this occasion, Joanna Weber wrote a
booklet "Couturier's Vision," which has since been republished.''
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SERIES I ORIGINAL PAPERS BOX RC£L
A. Categorie Chronologique
Chron A1897-IX1918 1 I
C-1A 1897-1917/1918
C- IB IX/ I9 I7 /VI /19I8
Chron B 1897-IX 1919 2 ) C-1 evil/1918-111/1919 C- ID IV/19I9-X/I919
Chron 2 X/1919 Saulchoir 3 |
Chron 3 Le Saulchoir Fin 1928 Oslo 4 ^
Chron 3 Le Saulchoir Fin 1928 5 2 C-3A - Le Saulchoir 3 Partie 1 6 ^
Chron 3 Le Saulchoir Fin 1928
C-3A Le Saulchoir -3 Partie 2
Chron4 1 /1929 -V I / 1933 7
Chron 5 VI I /1933-XII /1937 Partie A 8 .
Chron 5 VII /1933-XII / l 9 3 7 Partie B ' 3
Chron 6 1938-1939 A C 6 A / B / C 10 L j
Chron 6 1938-1939 B C C D Careme 4 0 11 L |
Chron 7 1940-11/1942 12 L j
Chron 8 11/1942-VI/1945 13 5 "
Chron 9 VI I /1945- IV/1948 14 5
Chron 10 V / 1 9 4 8 - V / 1 9 5 0 15 (p
Chron 1 1 VI /1950-IX/1951 16
Chron 12A X /1951 -X /1952 17 " 7
Chron 12B X / 1 9 5 1 - X / 1 9 5 2 18 7
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SERIES I ORIGINAL PAPERS BOX ITEM
B. Cafegorie Divers
Divers 9 & 10
Divers 1 1
C. Categoric Divers-Vence
DVl (Copie] Correspondance Vence
DV2A: Matisse/AAAC 1950
DV2B: Matisse/AAAC 51-53
DV 3 A et B Entretiens Rayssiguier
DV 4 Divers/dactylo Entretiens Matisse/Rayssiguier
D. Categorie Alphabetique
Alpha 1 A-Co
Alpha 2 A-2A Cr-De
A-2B Do-Em
A-2C En-Ga
A-2D Ge-lm
Alpha 3 In-Pl
Alpha 4 Po-Z
E. Categorie Photo/Dessins
Photos, Dessins, Littos, Gravures Archives
Couturier A
Dessins, Littos, Gravures Archives Couturier B
Drawings by Father Couturier
Signed posters, prints from artists for Couturier
Reproduction de Picasso, Le Pigeon papier journal,
signee, Picasso encre chine ou cachet (?)
Affiche de AAiro: ']oan Miro," signee crayon, filigrane:
AAarois
3 8
3 9
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4 2
4 3
4 4
4 5
4 6
4 7
4 8
4 9
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SERIES I ORIGINAL PAPERS BOX ITEM
E. Categoric Photo /Dess ins 4 9 | ?
Leonore Rini; Trois tetes, encre sur papier teint,
signe "Leonore Fini a u Pere Couturier." 1 6
F. Categor ie IC
I C - l a l C - 1 4 2 5 0 [0^ Letfres Maritain 1-56
Leftres Bazoine 5 7 - 6 8
Lettres d e Mirabel 6 9 - 1 4 2
IC-143 a IC-324 51 {O a / b ne sont p a s a communiquer
(Lettres d e Mirabel) 1 4 3 - 1 4 5
Lettres d e PC d Jean et Zohmah Chariot 1 4 6 - 1 5 4
Lettres d e Matisse d Mere Agnes 1 5 5 - 1 7 9
Lettres PC d Mother Mary-James et Sister Mary
Raphael 1 8 0 - 1 9 3
[194-197 missing]
Lettres d e Royssiguier d Matisse (Archives Duthuit] 198 -231
xerox dactylo
Lettres d e PC a Matisse (Archives Duthuit) 2 3 2 - 3 2 4
IC-325 a IC-446 5 2 X O Lettre PC a Royssiguier 3 2 5
PC d Harriett G r a c e 3 2 6 - 3 3 5
Lettre PC d Le Corbusier (25 octobre 1950) 3 3 6
P C / M m e Perrineau 3 3 7 - 3 3 9
PC d son neveu, P. Genton 3 4 0 - 3 4 2
Corr. divers donnees p a r Duploye 3 4 3 - 3 6 4
No te du PC: I'art moderne 3 6 5
L'ort a u service d e Dieu: plan 3 6 6
Notes/brouillons PC 3 6 7 - 3 7 3
Lettre d'A. Heimendohl d I'Abbe Prenel 3 7 4
Brouillons PC d e sermons 3 7 5 - 4 1 3
Modern Painting/PC texte en anglais 4 1 4
Traduction d e 4 1 4 en frangais 4 1 5
Causerie r a d i o / P C 5 ovril 1942 4 1 6 !
De la musique et d e la mogie en peinture 4 1 7
SERIES I ORIGINAL PAPERS BOX ITEM t l C C L
F. Categorie IC 5 2 Q , 0
Mme. de Men i l /PC 41 8
Temoignage de la religieuse qui a soigne PC 4 1 9
Article "World of Arts" sur le PC 4 2 0
Pere Duploye orticle sur PC "Foi et Culture" 4 2 1
Editions du Cerf/"L'evangile est a I ' e x t r e n n e " 4 2 2
Sermons 4 2 3 - 4 4 6
IC-447 a IC-496 5 3 2 . 0
Sermons 4 4 7 - 4 6 5
Sermons 4 6 6 - 4 8 1
Sermons 4 8 2 - 4 9 5
Notes et sermons pris par A. Hebert-Stevens 4 9 6
I G 4 9 7 a l C - 5 6 9 5 4
Don Abbe Prenel/Audincourt 4 9 7 - 5 3 0
Harriet Grau/Elkins Park 5 3 1 - 5 3 5
Portrait de PC + photos 5 3 6 - 5 4 4
Omer Co te /PC 5 4 5 - 5 4 7
"Le Pere Couturier au Quebec 11940-41) un vent
de liberte." Monique Brunet-Weinmann 5 4 8
Lettre PC a Le Corbusier (28 juillet 1953) 5 4 9
Lettre PC a Le Corbusier (4 aoOt 1953) 5 5 0
Correspondance PC/Desvallieres 5 5 1 - 5 6
Philippe Mazanet, "Un homme a la croisee
des cheminsiPC" 5 6 9
Simone W e i l Leftre a un religieux, photocopie d e
I ' o r i g i n a l e , Archives Nationales/Simone W e i l 5 7 0
25
SERIES I ORIGINAL PAPERS ITEM
G. Categorie LIvres et publications
a) Couturier's books
Marcel Parizeau L. 1 A, 1
Fernand Leger L. 1A.2
Chroniques L. 1A.3
Dieu et I'art dans une vie L. 1 B. 1
L'Evangile est a I'exlreme L. 1B.2
Art et liberte spirituelle L. 1 B.3
Discours de mariage L. 1 B.4
La Verite Blessee L. 1 B.5 (2)
Se Carder Libre L. 1 B.6
Art Sacre L. 1 B.7 (2)
Sacred Art L . 2 B . 1
La Chapelle de Vence: Journal dune creation L. 1 B.8
b) The Menil Collection
La Rime et la raison L. 1 D. 1
Warhol Shadows L . 2 D . 1
The Menil Collection L.2D.2
John Chamberlain L.2D.3
Selection L.2D.4
The Rothko Chapel L.2D.5
c) Journals
LArt Sacre: 1935-1939 L l E a . l
L'Art Sacre: 1945-1947: Cohiers de L'Art Sacre, 1-10 L.lEa.2
L Art Sacre: 1948-195 2 L. 1 Ea. 3
LArt Sacre: 1952-1955 L l E a . 4
LArt Sacre: 1955-1958 L. lEa.5
LArt Sacre: 1958-1968 L.lEb.5
Chroniques dAr t Sacre volumes 1 -24 L. 1 Ec. 1
Espace eglise, arts, architecture ] - 2 2 / 2 3 L. l E d . l
Liturgical Arts Feb. 1951 -May 1954 L.2F. 1
d) Sacred Art movement books
Ecole du Meuble, Le Chateau L. 1C. 1
L'oeuvre — le sacre L. 1C. 2
Modern Sacred Art and the Church o f Assy, Rubin, W . S.L.2C. 1
Couturier's Vision, Weber, J. L.2C.2 (2)
26
SERIES I ORIGINAL PAPERS ITEM
G. Categorie Livres e t publications
e) Related Sacred Art movement articles
"Leger et le moyen age," PC L. 1G. 1
"La souffrance et I'art," Vaincre, Vol. 1, # 1, PC L. 1 G . 2
"La Renaissance du Vitroil," Europe, Vol. 17, PC L. 1 G . 3
"Renaissance d e I'art Chretien," PC L. 1 G . 4
"Le Parti d e L'Esperance," PC 1-1 G . 5
"Le Corbusier," PC 1- 1 G . 6
"Pages d e Journal," La Revue d e Paris, mars 1 9 6 2 L. 1 G . 7
Article by Pie Duploye, O.P, about PC L. 1 G . 8
"Certitudes," France-Canada, fev.-mars 1 9 4 3 L. 1 G . 9
"Service d e France" & "Les Allies et L'Union d e s Francois,"
France-Canada, fev.-mars 1 9 4 3 L. 1G. 1 0
"Assy et Vence," ['Architecture d'aujourdhui L. 1G. 1 1
"Assy," Harper's Bazaar, Dec. 1 9 4 7 L.2G.1
"Church Full of Joy," Vogue, Dec. 1951 L.2G.2
"L'Action Fron^aise," Le Document, juillet 1 9 3 5 L. IFi . l
"Societe des Amis des Monuments et Sites d e L'Eure." L. 1 H . 2
"Rencontre avec Salvador Dali," La Revue d e Paris,
iuin 1 9 5 5 1-1H.3
"Exhibition d e Pierre Chorbonnier" L. 1 H . 4
france-Conoc/o, decembre 1 9 4 2 L. 1H .5
Fronce-Conoc/o, aoijt 1 9 4 3 L. 1 H . 6
"Le don d e soi d I'Absolu," Figaro, 5 novembre 1981 L. 1 H . 7
"Les Memoires d'Elisabeth d e Mirabel,"
L'tiumanite, 5 novembre 1981 L. 1H.8
"L'Art Passage d e Dieu," [o Cro/x, 2 6 decembre 1 9 8 4 L. 1 H . 9
Commonweal, September 14, 1951 L.2H.1
Commonwea/, January 1, 1 9 5 4 L.2H.2
"Fugue in Light: A Reading of the Vence Chapel Iconography,"
Joanna W e b e r , Ref/ecfons Fall 1 9 9 3 L.2H.3
"Civic Presence," Robert Schwartzwold 1.2H.4
27
Series II, TOPICAL GROUPINGS, is essentially a re-structuring of the
material found in Series I, ORIGINAL PAPERS, and consists of thirteen sub-series.
A. Fonds Regomey Inventory
B. Director/ of Agenda Names
C. Agendas
D. Couturier Chronology
E. Correspondence
F. Matisse's Vence Chapel Papers
G. Couturier's Articles
H. Couturier's Sermons
I. North America
J. Notes and Conferences other than N. America
K. La Verite Blessee Papers
L, Temoignages of Couturier's significance
M . Petites Reliures
Sub-series A,Fonds Regamey Inventory, is Barry Kaplan's organizational system
for the original papers.
Sub-series B, Directory of Agenda Names, consists of Mile, des Carets' ordering
of names found in Couturier's agendas 1937-1954 excluding 1941.
Sub-series C, Agendas, are copies of Couturier's agendas 1937-1954,
excluding 1941, with added typed transcription.
Sub-series D, Couturier Chronology, consists of Father Regomey's chronological
structure, where he highlights, per year, the important correspondence, major
events, and details, 1915-1953.
Sub-series E, Correspondence, is organized alphabetically, by name, and often
certain individuals are given their own volume. In some cases, the Couturier
Archives have been able to secure Couturier's letters to the specific individual,
and so we often have complete sets.
Sub-series F, Matisse's Vence Chapel Papers, refers to the correspondence sets
related to the making of the Vence Chapel: Matisse, Couturier, Rayssiguier, as
well as Mere Agnes.
Sub-series G, Couturier's Articles, consists of all Father Couturier's published
articles, organized chronologically. Often drafts of articles are included.
Sub-series H, Couturier's Sermons, contains Couturier's sermon texts and sermon
notes.
28
Sub-series I, North America, contains materials from Couturier's notes and
conferences from North America.
Sub-seriesJ, Notes and Conferences, contains Couturier's conference notes other
than those from North America.
Sub-series K, La Verite Blessee Papers, consists of Marcel Billot's work on this
manuscript.
Sub-senes L, Temoignages of Couturier's significance, contains copies of
materiel about Father Couturier, specifically articles published immediately after
his death in 1 9 5 4 .
Sub-series M , Petites Reliures, refers to very small topical groupings.
I 2 3 4
XI 2 1
e « 2 .1
6
7 8 9 10 11 12
2.1 2.1 0.1 a a
SERIES II TOPICAL GROUPINGS VOLUME * R g g L ,
A. Fonds Regamey Inventory
Fonds Regamey, classement alphabetique Fonds Regamey, classement chronologique I Fonds Regamey, classement chronologique II Fonds Regamey, classement divers et provisoire
B. Directory of Agenda Names 5 2.1
C. Agendas
1937-38 1939-40 1942-44 1945-46 1948-49 1950-51 1952-54
D. Couturier Chronology 1915-1953 13
E. Correspondence
Albemarle (Diana) 14
Allemand (Maurice) Almeida (Jose) Andigne (A. a") Andre (Frere) Anger (Jacqueline) Arma (Paul) Arsemaine (Chanoine) Cure de Sartrouville Artenoff (Mme) Arts et des Lettres/Direction generale des Augagneur (Marcel) Autin-Mourot (Therese) Auzou (Abbe N.)
Callignon (E.) 15 Calmel (Pere) Carre (Louis) Cassou (Jean) Chagall (Ida) Chagall (Marc)
30
SERIES II TOPICAL GROUPINGS VOLUME
E. Correspondence 15
Chagall (Virginie) Chaikin (Nathan) Chambon (Louis) Chamine (Mme) Champigneulle (B.) Charasson (Henriette) Charles-Roux (Edmonde) Chariot (Zohmah) Charrier (G.) Chasfoul Chenu (Pere) Chevignard (Pere) Christ (Yvan) Christian (Frere/Abbaye d'Orval) Claudel (P.) Claudel (Marion Cartier) Claudius-Petit (Eugene) Clayeux Cocagnac (Pere) Commonweal (Editors of) Corman (Louis) Cortot (Alfred) Costello Beer (Kathleen) Cousier (H.) of Montreal Coulay Couvent de Bethanie Plan d'Aups Ste. Baume
Couvent des Dominicaines Le Plessis-Chenet Cuevas (Georges de) Cuevas (Bessie) Cuevas (Margaret de) Cutting (Helen)
Dagonet, O.P. 16 Dalloz Damaz (Paul) Darsy (Pere/Rome) Daudet (M.L.) David (Andre)
31
SERIES II TOPICAL GROUPINGS VOLUME
E. Correspondence 16
Letter from Mr. Berger to Andre David
Debernardi (Abbe) Desgeorges (f. CM.) Delahou (ou Delahouy) Delannoy (Jean) Debs (P.) Delrieu de Mirabel (Elisabeth)-relie a part Denis (Maurice) Denis (Mme. Maurice) Derain (A.) Dervaux (Paul) Desailles (Guy) Desobry (fr. Aug.) Desvallieres (Georges) Desvallieres (Richard) Dielman (Suzanne) Dillon (famille) Dillon (Douglas) Dillon (Phyllis) Driscoll, O.P. (John) Droin (Monique) Droin (Rene) Droulers (L.) Dubarle (fr. Dominique) Dubos (A.) Duchene (Jean) Duflot (Abbe) Dufresne [Jacques & Edith) Duggan (Rev. John) Dumas, O.P. (fr. Reginald M.) Dupayrat (A.) Duploye (Pere Pie) Dutton (Norah) Edwards (Oscar) Elgar (Frank) Enlart (ST.) Escholier (Raymond) Etienneret
32
SERIES II TOPICAL GROUPINGS VOLUME
E. Correspondence
Gabel (Pere Emile) 17
Gadbois (Louise) relie a part Gadoffre (Alice et Gilbert) Gantillot Garreau-Dombasle (Marika et Maurice) Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. Gaudin (Jean) Gandin (Jean) Gaulle (General de) Gayral Gehr (Ferdinand) Germahling (Genevieve) Gentil (Eugene and O.) Gheerbrandt (B.) Gheon Gerbaud (Chanoine) Gibot y.) Gillet (Rd. Pere) Gimond Girard (Augustin) Goosdanovitch (P.) Gourgaud (Baronne ) Gouye (Mme. Roger) Green, (Julien) - relie a part Gromaire, (M.) Gueden (M. Th.) Gueret (Pierre) Guichardaz (C.) Guillaud Oean) Guillen (Jorge) Guyon (Y.) Haas-Teichel (Franz de) Halden (Stuart) Harcourt (M. d') Helio N.E.A. Henri-Dominique, O.P. (Sr.) Hebert-Stevens - relie a part Hiernaux (Abbe) Hofmann-lsenburg (Herbert) Hubbard (Celia)
33
SERIES II TOPICAL GROUPINGS VOLUME "fcgTgL
E. Correspondence 17
Huchet Bishop (Mme. C.) Hugo Oean) Hugo (Marie) Hugo Oean) Hugo (Francois) Huguet (Mile.) Hure (A.) Hurtebise (Claude) Ipousteguey Oean) Iswolsky (Helene) Jarry (R.) Jean de la Croix (Pere) Joatton, O.S.B. (Fr. R) Jomier (Fr. J.) Jomier (Michel, M.L.) Jouhandeau - relie a part Kalmus (Allan H.) Keane (Harold D.) Kerouedan (Abbe) Krishna (Riboud) Kolb (Annette)
Laborde (fr. Henri de Solesmes) 18 ^ p Lachaud (Jacques) Lacombe (R.G.) Lacretelle (Jacques de) Laden (Lucien) La Farge (M.) La Haye (Mme.) Lamarche (Pere Gustave) Landry, O.P. (fr. Thomas) Langdon (Ruth) Lanotte (Andre) Lansard (Abbe O.) Laprade (Jacques and Gisele de) Lardeur (Jenny) Larigny (G.J.) Lasserre (B.) Latour (Alfred) Laugier (Henri) Lemay, O.P. (fr. A.N.)
34
SERIES II TOPICAL GROUPINGS VOLUME ^2.CCC_ .
E. Correspondence 18 2 3
Laurencin (Marie) Laurent (Jean Dominique) Laval (J.) Lavanoux (Maurice) Lebout Le Caisne Le Chevrel (Madeleine) Leclerc (Abbe H.) Leclerc (Philippe) Lecoq (Jean) Le Corbusier Le Donne (Andre) Le He (M.) Lejeune (E.) Lelievre (N.) Lelong, O.P. (fr. M.H.) Le Louet (Marquis Jean Madrid) Le Norcy (F.) Lentz Le Pichon Oean) Letac Levis-Mirepoix (Laurette de) Levis-Mirepoix (Charles-Henri) Levi-Strauss (Claude) Lipchitz Lormery (Francion) Louis, O.P. (Frere) Louis (Abbe Theophile) Lurcat (Jean) Lyman (John)
Maas (Dr. Alice) 19 2 2 Maeght (Guite) Malraux (Andre) Manceron (Marie) Mandonnet, O.P. (Rd. P.) Manessier Marcel (Gabriel) Marcy (Robert) Marion (Jeanne) Marois (Pierre)
35
SERIES II TOPICAL GROUPINGS VOLUME f££CL.
E. Correspondence 19 2/5
Marville (P. et Violette)
Mary-Raphael, O.P. (Soeur) Masurel, O.P. (fr. A.M.) Maurant (Oliver) Mauriac (Francois) Mauriac (Claude) Mai (Helen) Maurras (Ch.) Maussabre (R. de) Maydieu, O.P. (fr. Augustin) Mayo McDermott (T.S.) Meichler (Alexandre) Menasce (Pere de) Menil (Dominique de) Menil (Christophe de) Meriaux (Abbe P.) Merlet Oean) Messsieres (de) Metschersky (Boris) Minot (P.) Miro Mollie (Tome) i Montfort(L) Morel (Abbe) Morgan (Anne) Mosin (Mme) Mouton Oean) Muhlstein (Diane) Nantet (Renee) Nelligan (Rd Joseph) Nesmy (J.) Neuville Nielly, O.P. (f.J.B.) Noispeou Noreen (Sister M.) Novarina Ormesson (Wladimir d1)
Pagnier (Claude et Jacqueline) 20 2 3 Pampelonne (Charles de)
36
SERIES II TOPICAL GROUPINGS VOLUME R & & L .
E. Correspondence 20 2 3
Pange (Broglie)
Partouneaux (Mme. de) Patfoot (fr. Thomas) Patrick (Brother M.) Paulhan Oean) Pellan (Alfred) Pelletier (Pie) Pericaul (Abbe Michel) Pelloux (Mie Martine) Pelloux-Prayer (P.) Perestrello Ooan) Perinelli (Fr. G) Petriconi (Elisabeth de) Petsche (Maurice) Philip"pe"(fr7 Thomas) - - — Picard (Michel) Pichard (J.). Pichard (Abbe F.) Pillon Pinchon Pinchon (G.) Pingusson (E.) Pollet-Flipo (Gerard) Pompidou (Georges) Pompidou (Claude) Poncet (Marcel) Pfeiffer (Pierre) Possel (A. de) Pouliot (fr. Vincent) Prados (M. et Isabelle) Prados-famille Priolet (Y.) Quarre
Saguer(A.) " 21 2£ Saint-Andre (Soeur M.) Saint-Jean (Robert de) Saint-Rene Taillandier (H.) Sauguet (Henri) Scarborough (Emily) Schwartz (Albert)
SERIES II TOPICAL GROUPINGS VOLUME fcjEEL
E. Correspondence 21 2^>
Scriabine (Marina)
Selancy (fr. de) Sert (Madame) Seurre (A.) Severini (Gino) Silver! (Prof. A.) Simon (Jacques) Skillin (Edward) Stern (Robert) Serval (Pere) Stern (Mildred, Joseph, Alain, Robert) Stern (Karl) Stettiner 0.) Stravinsky (Igor)
Vabois Oean) 22 2 . 3 Vaerten (Jan) Vago (Pierre) Vanier (General) Vanneufville, O.P. (fr.) Varine-Bohans (Bonand) Vazelhes 0. de) Vechten (Carl van) Vermelen (fr. Thomas Jean) Vidal (Andre) Vienot (J.) Vignes (M.H.) Vilmorin (Louise de) Vilmorin (Elisabeth) Vincent (Abbe Philippe) Vogue [|. de) Vully (Joigny)
(First name only) 23 2 3
Corr. divers avec PC 24 2»H Pere Avril Abbe Batet Borduas Boulet Bourgain (Mme)
38
SERIES II TOPICAL GROUPINGS VOLUME t ^ C S U
E. Correspondence 24 2 .4
Bruchesi
Calmel (Pere) Cote (Omer) Dauphin (Marie-Therese) David (Andre) Desobry (Pere) Desvallieres (Georges) Dubarle (Pere) Dubois (Pierre) Duploye (Pere) Elgar (Frank) Florand (Pere) Focillon (Henri) Francia (Mgr) Gabel (Pere) Le Corbusier Remond (Mgr) Saint Nectaire (Affaire de) Shallenberger (Ditty) Soeur Therese Vanneuville (Rd. Pere) Waterman (dit Wasserman)
PC avec sa famille I
PC avec sa famille II
Bazaine Prenel Leger
de Croisset (Philipe, Ethel, Marie-Therese, Peter) et de Menil de Croisset — photocopie des originaux Elisabeth de Mirabel Mme. Gadbois Julien Green Adeline Hebert-Stevens Jouhandeau Maritain Mere Perrineau avril-mai 1918 Mere Perrineau juin 1918-dec. 1920
25
26
27
2.M
2 -4
2M
28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37
2 . 4 2 4
2 .4
2 * zs ZS zS IS 2S 25
SERIES II TOPICAL GROUPINGS VOLUME R € £ ( _
E. Correspondence
Mere Perrineau 1921-38 Pere Regamey 1 Pere Regamey II Frere Thomas + L'Eminente Dignite de I'art moderne (texte par PC)
38 39 40
41
ZS 2 0 2C
xu
F. Matisse's Vence Chapel Papers
Lettres de Matisse 1948-49 Corr. Matisse/PC - PC/Matisse Entretiens Matisse-Rayssiguier 4/1 2/47-3/2/49 Lettres de Matisse au PC 1950-53 Corr. Matisse/Rayssiguier - Rayssiguier/Matisse Corr. Matisse/Mere Agnes & Notes Divers Vence
G. Couturier's Articles
1933-1950 1933-42 1943-50 1951-54 1951
H. Couturier's Sermons
Sermons undated 1926-32 1933-35 1936-38 1939-49 et non-dates
I. North America
Careme/New York (St. Vincent de Paul) 7/2-24/3 1940 Careme/New York (St. Vincent de Paul) Archives d'Elkins Park/PC au Canada 1940-45 Notes de conferences faites au Canada Notes et fragments 1940-45 Notes d'Amerique I Notes d'Amerique II Notes d'Amerique III/ La Sainte Baume
42 43 44 45 46 47
*c#
ZG Xs 2 0 3.-7 2 7
48 49 50 51 52
2 7
2.7 2 7 2 7
XB
53 54 55 56 57
ox
X* & 2 8
2 ?
58 59 60 61 62
63 64 65
2 ? X°i X<\ X*
XI 2<?
2 /? 0A
40
SERIES II TOPICAL GROUPINGS VOLUME 12.GE:L_
J. Notes and Conferences
La Sainte Baume Notes Religieuses Notes I945-I953 Conferences et discours 1945-52 Preface/Discours/lnterviews/Dossier Fiches Notes: A1A-A1B Notes: A1C-A1D Notes: A2 ABCD Notes: A3 ABCD Notes: A4 ABCD
K. La Verite Blessee Papers
66 67
68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75
3 0
s o 3 0
3 0 3 0 3 0 3 ^
3\ 3 1
>\
La Verite Blessee I La Verite Blessee II La Verite Blessee III La Verite Blessee IV + textes supprimes Critique de la Presse pour La Verite Blessee
76 77 78 79 80
3 1 3 « 3 ! 3 1 3 1
L. Temoignages of Couturier's Significance
Lettres divers/Fonds Regamey - Temoignages Presse Temoignage du PC Correspondence Temoignage sur le PC Lettres et Notes
81 82 83
y * , *y2/ ?X
M. Petites Reliures folder
corr. PC/Regamey (supplement) 9 Lettres du PC/Jean et Zohmah Chariot Extraits de lettres du PC a Mme. Perrineau Lettres E. de Mirabel/PC supplement Paul Claudel "Notes sur I'art chretien," "Lettre a Cingria," "Eglise souterraine a Chicago" dans Positions et Propositions PC: Catholicisme Americain PC: Conference a Rome D-7etD-13(l) D-lAlaetD-lA2a
2 3 4
5 6 7
SERIES II TOPICAL GROUPINGS folder R C C q
M. Petites Reliures 3 2 .
D5 - 10
D-4A d (notes utilisees dans Chroniques) 1 1 Assy - Ronchamp Notes Divers 1 2 Audincourt 13 References du manuscrit du PC I (projet Caroline Boyle) 14 References du manuscrit du PC II (projet Caroline Boyle) 15
42
Series III, ENGLISH TRANSLATION PAPERS, consists of Art Sacre and La Verite Blessee English translator, William Granger Ryan's Donation and includes 66 folders divided into eight sub-series:
A. Art Sacre B. La Verite Blessee C. Other Couturier writings D. Secondary writings on Couturier E. Ryan courses co-taught with John W. Cook F. Couturier book proposals G. Special Couturier events at Yale H. Ryan Topical editing of Couturier material
Sub-series A, Art Sacre, is material related to the English translation, Sacred Art.
Sub-series B, La Verite Blessee, is material related to the English translation, Truth Wounded.
Sub-series C, Other Couturier writings, refers to texts other than found in Sacred Art and Truth Wounded, which Granger Ryan translated.
Sub-series D, Secondary Writings on Couturier, indicates the collections of secondary material Granger Ryan gathered together for his translations research.
Sub-series E, Granger Ryan related courses, refers to syllabi and notes for courses Ryan co-taught with John W. Cook at Yale.
Sub-series F, Couturier book proposals, indicates Ryan's suggested structure and ordering of the Couturier material for the production of a book.
Sub-series G, Special Couturier events at Yale, refers specifically to the Rothko Symposium (December 1989) and the Couturier Collection Opening (February 1992).
Sub-series H, Ryan Topical listing of Couturier material, isa binder in which Ryan has organized categories under which he has collected Couturier's writings in order to track what Couturier meant.
SERIES III ENGLISH TRANSLATION PAPERS
A. Art Sacre
B. La Verite Blessee
C. Other Couturier writings
D. Secondary writings on Couturier
E. Ryan courses co-taught with John W. Cook
F. Couturier book proposals
G. Special Couturier events at Yale
H. Ryan Topical editing of Couturier material
BOX
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
folders
1-8
9-14
15-19
20-21
22-29
30-36
37-39
40-44
45-48
10 49-53
11 54-55
12 56-60
13 61-65
14 66
44
Access to the Collection
The Couturier Collection at Yale is located in Room 79, the Chapel Building of Yale Divinity School at 409 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 0651 1. A copy machine is on the premises so that researchers may photocopy the materials they need for their projects. To make an appointment to visit the Couturier Collection, please call the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Worship and the Arts' main office, (203)432-5180.
Information about the documents in the Couturier Collection is also accessible through Yale's Online public catalog (ORBIS) and the Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN). A copy of this Register is available on the Internet by pointing to Yale, following points to Yale Divinity Library/Institute of Sacred Music, Worship and the Arts.
Notes
1. The Archives Couturier are located at 7 rue las Cases, 75007 Paris. The documents are accessible by appointment only. 2. This section is partially taken from Joanna Weber's presentation, "Studying Couturier," for the Opening of the Couturier Collection at Yale, February 9, 1992. 3. Father Couturier, "Boundaries" in Sacred Art, trans. William Granger Ryan (Austin, Texas: Menil Foundation/University of Texas Press, 1989), 150. 4. Ibid., 148. 5. Drawn from Marcel Billot's established chronology in La Verite Blessee, translation by Joanna Weber. 6. See Walter Hopps' introduction, The Menil Collection (New York: Harry Abrams Press, 1987), 10-11. 7. For more information on the Rothko Chapel commission and Father Couturier's influence, see Susan J. Barnes, The Rothko Chapel: An Act ofFaith (Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1989). 8. Marcel Billot, "Les Archives Marie-Alain Couturier a la Menil Foundation," Art Libraries Journal 15.2 (1990): 36. 9. Faith and Form: Journal of the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art & Architecture, 23 (1990): 38-40; and Arts: The Arts in Religious and Theological Studies (Winter-Summer, 1989-90): 19-22. 10. Mark Weber and Estelle Le Thuaut assisted with the photocopying. 11.1 wish to thank Harry Baker Adams, Janet Barriger, Paula Carlson, Joan Duffy, Jan Fournier, Peter Hawkins, Martha Smalley, and John Utz for their assistance in my preparation of this Register.
46
Designed by Sonia Scanlon.
Copyright © 1994 by the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Worship and the Arts
The Father Marie-Alain Couturier, O.P. (1897-1954) Papers
Couturier Collection at Yale University
a gift from the Menil Foundation to the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Worship and the Arts
Archival Register compiled by Joanna Weber June 1994
. .* ft IV-